India to Scrap Colonial-Era Laws, Repeal Penal Code

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Facts

  • On Friday, India's federal government presented three bills to repeal and replace the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act, many of which were implemented during the British rule.1
  • The proposed changes deal with pressing issues, including imposing the death penalty for mob lynching and sexual assault on minors as well as a 20-year minimum sentence for gang rape.2
  • Home Minister Amit Shah further stated that one of the bills would replace the colonial-era sedition law, imposed by the British in 1860 to repress freedom fighters, with its own version.3
  • This comes as PM Narendra Modi's government has sought to remove symbols of British colonialism from history books, urban landscapes, and political institutions.4
  • The repealing of the controversial sedition law, which India's Supreme Court put on hold last year, would prompt the addition of new offenses for endangering the country's sovereignty, criminalizing armed rebellion, and separatist actions.5
  • The two houses of India's Parliament are expected to consider the bills that Shah claims will transform the country's criminal justice system later this year.6

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2Hindustan times, 3Independent, 4Barrons, 5Bloomberg and 6Abc news.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Opindia. Minister Shah is trying to kill multiple birds with one stone. While ridding India of any remnants of colonialism, these bills will also protect women and children from forced sexual relationships. PM Modi's government believes in India's rightful status as a sovereign country, which is why he's working to protect his people from both their enslaved past and modern-day extremism.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Scroll.in. While the official wording of the old British laws may have been changed in the proposed bills, Modi's government isn't actually repealing the sedition act. In fact, it is broadening the definition of seditious words to include those with the so-called tendency to incite violence or cause public disorder. The British may not be in charge any longer, but Modi has picked up the authoritarian sword and wielded it for himself.

Predictions